by Nicki Elson
Back in the bed, she flicked through the faces of her usual imaginary paramours as she rubbed the trembling gadget over herself, but her mind wandered away from all of them. Had she opened her mouth first or had Hayden? She wasn’t sure, but it hadn’t mattered once they’d fully tasted each other. Their mutual hunger had taken over. Vibrizzio was now inside her; she’d slipped him in without thinking about it.
“Hayden,” she whispered into the empty room. She didn’t want to push him from her mind again. Her self-imposed rule to not fantasize about anyone she knew in real life didn’t apply to him because the rule’s purpose was to discourage hope. The prospect of anything romantic with Hayden was already dead, so it was perfectly safe to indulge.
She slid the device in further, rocking her hips. Hayden had her pushed up against a wall of the museum, behind a display of ancient pottery. Earlier that day, he’d ordered her to not wear any panties, and now he ran his hand up the back of her bare thigh to verify her obedience.
“Good girl,” he murmured, and then bit down at the base of her neck, sucking and chewing as his hand maneuvered to her front, his thumb gliding over her, stopping to pulse at her most sensitive point. Twisting his fingers, he slipped them deep inside while his mouth calmed to tickling baby kisses up the side of her throat until his lips were at her ear. “Such a good girl.”
She should stop. This was a bad idea. How would she look at him straight when they were both back in Illinois? His unoccupied hand slid around her back and pulled down her zipper as his lips moved to hers. His mouth was hot and wet and demanding. Just one fantasy, a Christmas gift to herself. One carefree night with Delicious Hayden. She flashed to both of them completely naked. She was perched on the back of the maneless lion of Mfuwe with Hayden bent over her, his face buried in her folds, his tongue surging and molding her into a mass of unadulterated pleasure. It didn’t mean anything. It was only fantasy.
Now she stood among Egyptian treasures with ancient jewelry adorning her. Gold and turquoise cuffs wrapped around her wrists, held high in the air while Hayden gripped her hips, pressing into her from behind. A thick collar of beads and golden falcons hung from her neck, ending just above her buoyant breasts. His sure hands cupped the supple mounds of flesh, kneading them. She twisted her neck so their tongues could dance together, mimicking the slippery movement of the slender asp that encircled her waist…
…they were in the main hall, on a giant elephant, her back pressed against its rough, arched neck. Her legs formed a perfect V as they pointed into the air. Hayden’s tight, muscular, powerful form took her from above, driving ever more forcefully into her until he cried out in ecstasy. She exploded and shook all around him, screaming aloud in her mind. In real life, her voice only came out as a muted whimper.
Chapter 14
“WE’LL MAKE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS to the client in March,” Hayden explained as he pumped fists with yet another team of investment managers, this time in Baltimore.
He’d sprouted a light beard during the ski trip. The dark shadow over the bottom half of his face made the blue of his eyes even more brilliant. Lyssa’s surprise at his new look had helped mask the slight awkwardness she’d felt upon seeing him for the first time after she’d mentally ravaged him. By the time they’d left for Baltimore, ten days into the new year, she’d been able to set the fantasy aside as a fading, glorious memory that had nothing to do with their true relationship.
“The board will have to take a vote,” Hayden continued, “so it’ll be at least eight to ten weeks before anything is final.”
“We appreciate you making the trip out here and considering us for this placement,” the firm’s founder said. “It’s an innovative concept, and we’d love the chance to prove ourselves.”
After exiting the building and stepping out onto the sidewalk, Hayden pulled his wool collar up against the icy wind and nodded toward a coffee shop. “Want to stop in there?”
“Sure.”
Once inside, he told Lyssa to go ahead and place her order, saying he didn’t want anything.
“Then why did you want to come in here?” she asked.
“Sabine texted right before the meeting and asked me to call her as soon as we were done. I didn’t want to do it from the street.” A small crease formed between his eyebrows.
“What’s the scrunched face about?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever actually talked to her on the phone before.” His eyes darted around the crowded coffee shop, then he nodded toward the empty hall by the bathrooms. “That looks like the quietest spot.”
“I’ll grab a coffee and a table, and you can join me when you’re done.” There was a queue at the counter, so by the time she got her latte and nabbed a small corner table just as another customer left it, she didn’t have long to wait before Hayden rejoined her.
He didn’t say anything, only pulled a chair out and lowered into it, keeping his gaze fixed on the table. His expression was vague. If Lyssa were pressed to label it, she’d have called it mild amusement.
“So how did it go?” she asked.
Raising his eyes to hers, he lifted one side of his mouth in a crooked grin. “You know all that trouble you’ve been giving me about my stable of women? Well, looks like I wasn’t the only one diversifying.”
Lyssa let the warm latte sit on her tongue and squinted at him. If he was saying what she thought he was saying, why was he smiling?
He leaned forward with both elbows on the table. “She’s been seeing someone else, and apparently things are getting serious with this other guy, so she cut me loose. Now who’s the philanderer?”
She gulped down her mouthful. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“Nope.”
“For a guy who just got dumped, you don’t seem very broken up about it.”
He shrugged. “She’s just one woman.”
“Gee, I wonder why she picked the other guy.”
“Did you know about him?”
Lyssa scanned her mind for any clues she might have overlooked, but she came up empty. “No. No idea at all.”
Hayden sat back in his chair and tapped the fingertips of one hand at the edge of the table. “It’s possible she’s making him up, an excuse to end things. I think our little getaway was eye-opening for both of us. Your friend’s a bit of a princess—which is nice in small doses, but five full days of it was too much. To be honest, I was planning to phase her out by Valentine’s Day. Her phone call has made things a whole lot easier.”
Lyssa nodded, wondering if this was for real or false bravado—an attempt to hide his vulnerable side.
“Almost done with that?” he asked, nodding toward her coffee. “I feel like something stronger. The hotel isn’t far; we could walk in that direction and stop somewhere for a drink on the way. Want to?”
She didn’t—it had been a long day, and she wanted to go back to her room and change into cozy clothes—but she figured he probably needed to talk more about the breakup, so she agreed. Nearly an hour later, at a bar a few blocks closer to the hotel, they started in on their second round of beers. He hadn’t yet made another mention of Sabine. All they’d talked about was the DH project. They’d interviewed several candidates for the wild card pool by now and hashed over their options.
“Has Shep made any progress with Lula?” Lyssa asked.
“Not yet. She keeps canceling on him, but I think they set something up for within the next couple of weeks.”
“It’d be great to be able to include her.”
“It would, but the clock’s ticking. We can only afford to spend so much time on a single manager, no matter how promising.”
Nearly halfway through her second beer, Lyssa had a realization: she was guzzling the hops and barley to quiet the rumbling in her stomach. She’d proven to herself more than once that drinking her dinner rarely turned out well. “Do you think they have chicken wings or stuffed jalapenos or something?”
“I saw a menu at the bar.” He hopped
up to bring one back, and they ordered a few plates of appetizers. While they ate and continued to discuss business, the atmosphere of the bar gradually changed. People in business attire departed and were replaced by a younger crowd in slinkier clothing. The music went from mellow thrumming to the hyper beat of dance-club music.
When the volume of the music had risen so high that Lyssa asked “What?” three times in a row, Hayden shouted, “I think that’s our cue to leave!”
She nodded, and they slung their coats over their arms and brought their empty dishes to the bar, now lined with people. Hayden took Lyssa’s plate and suavely inserted himself between two women to reach the counter. The woman to his right snapped her head toward him when he inadvertently bumped her shoulder, but her scowl dissolved after she got a look at him.
She was tall and thin with her bony angles hugged by a tight top and a butt-high skirt. Fluffy hair framed her painted face. She said something to Hayden that Lyssa couldn’t hear over the music. Whatever it was made him tilt his head and laugh. He turned fully toward the girl and said something back to her, inciting her to reach out and run her fingers over the lapel of his suit jacket before leaning in to talk directly into his ear.
Lyssa took a step back, feeling suddenly uncomfortable. Her movement seemed to catch Hayden’s eye, and he nodded toward her, holding out his hand and motioning for her to come close. She did, and he put his arm over her shoulder, half shouting, “This is my partner, Lyssa. We were just leaving, but it was nice to meet you.”
The girl curved her shiny lips into a pout, and Lyssa told him, “You can stay if you want.” He tilted his head sideways and gave her an odd stare, she assumed to assess her sincerity, so she rose onto the balls of her feet, saying into his ear, “You’ve got an empty stall to fill, and she’s really pretty, so…”
He smiled and slid his hand off her shoulder, leaving a cold empty space behind. Holding his hand out to the woman, he repeated, “Like I said, it was nice meeting you, but we’re leaving.”
The woman didn’t take his hand. Instead, she lifted her elbow onto the bar and leaned back, scanning her falsely lashed eyes over Lyssa. “I think you should listen to him and stay,” she said loud enough for Lyssa to hear.
“Him?” Hayden asked.
The woman nudged the girl standing next to her. The friend turned and followed the woman’s gaze as it again scraped over Lyssa in her typical pantsuit. She’d twisted her dark hair into a tight bun, and most of her makeup had probably worn off after the long day.
“Ohhh, it’s a girl. I’m sorry, my mistake,” the woman said. Her friend snickered.
“Really?” Hayden pushed back from the bar. “Let me show you something.” He turned to Lyssa and took her wool winter coat from her arm. “Take off your suit jacket.”
“What?” She thought she must’ve heard him wrong, but the look he gave her was dead serious. Though she had no idea why he’d made the request, she complied.
Now standing in her sleeveless, high collared blouse, she watched him take her coat and jacket and hand them over to the woman. “Mind holding onto these for a moment?” He shrugged out of his jacket and gave it along with his overcoat to her friend. “Watch and learn, ladies.” He put his hand to the small of Lyssa’s back and steered her toward the dance floor.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“We’re going to show those witches what sexy is.”
“We are? How?”
“By dirty dancing, silly.”
Lyssa pivoted only steps away from the dance floor, where a half-dozen couples gyrated to sultry, thumping rhythms. Placing a hand on his chest under the knot of his loosened tie, she said, “I don’t think so. Hall and Oates is really more my speed.”
“Ehhh…” He twisted his mouth and scrunched his eyes doubtfully.
She interpreted the gesture to mean she hadn’t been up to par even with that. “My point exactly.”
“You need to relax.” He placed a hand on each of her hips and gently pushed her backward until she felt her heels click on the parquet squares. “Didn’t I do an excellent job of gliding you across the dance floor at the Christmas party?”
“That was diff—rent.” Her voice skipped when he guided her hand from his chest to the thick, hard roundness of his shoulder and moved in close, pressing against her.
Into her ear, he murmured, “Let the music flow through you and follow my lead. It’s just you and me out here. Close your eyes if you need to.”
He obviously didn’t intend to let her escape this humiliation, so she fluttered her eyelids shut and focused on the vibration of the music. It shook her toes and traveled through her, settling in her chest until it felt as if her heart pumped in time to the song. Inhaling, she caught Hayden’s scent. The musky spice with hints of sweetness filled her. With her senses distracted, she synched her movements to the slow undulations of his firm body against hers.
“Good,” he whispered, his breath hot against her neck. Her eyes flew open. The guitar and sax morphed together and eventually gave way to a persistent beat of percussion and cymbals. When more instruments joined them, Hayden chuckled. “Looks like eighties tunes are going to be our thing.” It was a remix of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love.”
He guided her to turn around and pressed into her backside. She kept her eyes open and moved with him, trying to forget that anyone else was watching them—though observation was the entire purpose of this exercise.
“Come on, relax,” Hayden said. “You’re too stiff.”
The only way she’d get through this was by pretending. She’d already gotten past one night of erotic Hayden fantasies; surely a few minutes of provocative dancing wouldn’t make a difference. Her lids again fell shut. His hands stayed on her hips, holding her to him while he directed their rhythm. Under his sure guidance, she relaxed and gave herself over to the steady, seductive beat, raising her arms overhead and crossing them at the wrists. Hayden stroked her sides, one hand moving to stretch across her stomach. She sucked in her gut, engaging her core to move with the music, with him. She’d show those bitches what sexy was.
When he spun her around to face him, she opened her eyes and they immediately met his. He kept his gaze steady on her while his hand at the small of her back urged her forward. With her hips pulsing in time with his, she pressed farther and farther into him, sliding up one of his thighs until it was held tight between both of hers. She couldn’t possibly get any closer without sinking under his skin. Hayden’s heat surrounded her, cocooned her, and she no longer had to think to move. No body part was distinguishable from any other; they were just Hayden and Lyss, flowing together like it was the most natural thing in the world.
The beat faded, giving way to a tinny, synthetic strain. Hayden laid a quick, wet kiss on the side of her neck. “Absolutely brilliant,” he murmured.
Grabbing her hand, he led her back to the bitches, who didn’t say a word, just stood there with their glossy mouths pressed into scowls as they pushed Lyssa and Hayden’s things toward them. Hayden took the coats, handing Lyssa hers and folding his over his arm.
“Your lesson for the day, ladies,” he said, “is that you don’t need to dress like a prostitute to be sexy as all hell.” To hide her laugh, Lyssa turned and started walking toward the door. Before her partner followed, she heard him shout over the music, “I could stare at that nicely rounded ass all day long!”
Outside, they pulled on their coats, laughing, and Hayden said, “I’ve gotta get you on a dance floor outside of a work function more often. That was hot.”
Lyssa flushed, the heat of her skin colliding with the cold air. As they began their short walk to the hotel, she said, “It was chivalrous of you to defend my gender-identity back there, but you didn’t need to. Five years ago, something like that might’ve bothered me, but now…” She shrugged. “Now I feel bad for people like that, permanently stuck in high school mean-girl mode.”
“The dance was still pretty fun though, no?”
She smiled. “Yes, it was fun. But really, you could’ve stayed without me.”
“I have no interest in spending time with nasty women like that. And I’ve got Roni to tide me over until I find a worthy new recruit.”
“So there’ll be new recruits?”
“Of course.”
“Is it Roni’s age that keeps you from getting more serious with her?”
“Her age? No. That doesn’t bother me.”
“No?”
“Why would it? She’s got decades of experience packed into that firm, bitable bod.”
“Then it’s just a sexual attraction with her?”
“No, there’s definitely more than the physical there. She’s a great woman all around. I really like her.”
“I don’t understand. If you feel that way, why haven’t you ever tried to make it more than a casual thing? Is it because she lives out of state?”
“Wrong again. The world has become a very small place, and Atlanta isn’t that far away to begin with.”
“What’s holding you back then?”
He gave her a sideways glance as they reached the front of their hotel. “You’re asking me to reveal a piece of my soul. That comes at a price.”
She stepped into the open section of the revolving door, turning toward him to ask, “What’s the price?”
“A piece of yours.”
Chapter 15
“LOOKS LIKE SOUL TRADING will have to wait for another day,” Lyssa said to Hayden as soon as he completed his rotation through the revolving door and joined her in the dimly lit lobby.
“Why wait?” he asked. “Pool’s open for another two hours. Change and meet me there—I’ll bring the beer.”
“Don’t you need to prepare for the meetings tomorrow?”
“Nope. All done, and we can review on the train to D.C. tomorrow morning.”
“What about your beauty rest?”
“The night is young. We’ll be sleeping by eleven. Unless, of course, you have special plans with Andre Agassi.” He gave her a teasing tilt of his head.